France summons Russian ambassador over strikes on Kyiv

France has summoned Russia’s ambassador to Paris, Alexey Meshkov, following retaliatory strikes carried out by Russian forces on military facilities in Kyiv, according to an official statement from the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

The move was made on the instructions of French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, the ministry said in a communiqué.

“The ministry, on the instructions of the minister [Jean-Noël Barrot], is summoning the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to France,” the statement said.

Paris condemned the strikes, which Moscow described as retaliation for the deaths of civilians in the temporarily occupied Luhansk region, and also criticised a recommendation to evacuate diplomatic personnel from Kyiv. The French Foreign Ministry characterised these actions as “unacceptable threats against foreign diplomats” and reaffirmed that France would continue its support for Ukraine.

The developments follow an earlier incident in which Ukrainian drones struck an academic building and dormitory of the Starobilsk Professional College of the Pedagogical University in the occupied part of the Luhansk region. At the time of the attack, 86 children were reportedly present. According to the reported figures, 65 civilians were injured, including 21 who were killed.

In response, on May 25, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that the Russian Armed Forces would transition to conducting systematic strikes targeting facilities linked to the military-industrial complex in Kyiv.

By Tamilla Hasanova